Place

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.  Ephesians 4:26,27

My husband and I were not saved when we first got married.  In fact, we were married for fourteen years before we got saved, and months apart from one another.  During that time, there were a lot of sunsets.

We spent many nights in anger, cold shoulders and silence.  Neither one of us wanting to yield our prideful way.  Before we knew it, this ignorance of practice, grew into a hard habit to break after salvation.  When disagreements, opinions, and misunderstandings get swept under a rug for years and years, one day you come to find out that these unresolved issues like to rear their ugly heads in the here and now.

The result:

Satan found his niche.

I looked up the word 'place' and realized that there are many definitions.  Here are a few:

    A physical environment, space

    A way for admission or transit

    Physical surrounding, 'atmosphere'

    A locality for a special purpose

    A particular spot for occupancy

    A relative position

    A distinct condition, position or state of mind

    An available seat, and empty or vacated position

And the list goes on!

When offences remain in our hearts as the sun goes down, Satan has now taken up residence.

When I allow Satan a foothold in my life, I have taken Christ off the throne and put the devil there instead.  I have given him a place and a space to occupy in my life, to affect my life in a negative way, instead of the way the Lord has planned for me.  Self takes over and it can begin with a simple thought to resist reconciliation.

We need to be vigil!  Always ready, always armed with the armor of God! 

(Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Peter 5:8) The devil works in subtle ways that aren't always recognized if we are not diligently watching!

The devil has destroyed many homes and relationships because he was allowed access to positions he was never meant to be.  The longer we allow him to stay there, the more power he has in our lives, and we become desensitized.

So how do we NOT give place to the devil?

Sometimes it will take talking until the sun rises-

    It will be worth it!

        But that's just me!

"A clear conscience is a soft pillow."  Amish Proverb